Cup and flag position indicating means

ABSTRACT

For use on a golf ball putting green, a ball sinking cup, a flag and a flagstaff such as is commonly referred to as the pin. The improved cup is interiorly provided with vertically spaced hublike spiders which stabilize and support the insertable and removable lower end of the flagstaff. As herein shown the lower end is provided with a fiber glass or equivalent member having a head and shank. The essence of the invention pertains to simple, practical and reliable means on the attachable edge of the flag and the flagstaff whereby the flag is capable of being detachably and adjustably mounted by and under the supervision of the greenskeeper precisely and positively in a manner that a golfer teeing off or approaching a given green is able to not only clearly see the position of the flag but to estimate with reasonable certainty the established locale and placement of the cup, that is, whether the cup has been placed in an area adjacent the rearward segment, the front segment or the medium area relative to the ever varying marginal contour of said green.

United States Patent 1 Istre [111 3,732,845 [4 1 May 15, 1973 1 CUP ANDFLAG POSITION INDICATING MEANS Clovis Istre, 1020 Alamo, Lake Charles,La. 70601 22 Filed; Aug. 3, 1972 211 App]. No.: 277,505

[76] lnventor:

[52] US. Cl ..116/173, 273/34 A Primary Examiner-Louis J. Capozi Att0rney- Harvey B. Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT For use on a golf ball puttinggreen, a ball sinking cup, a flag and a flagstaff such as is commonlyreferred to as the pin. The improved cup is interiorly provided withvertically spaced hub-like spiders which stabilize and support theinsertable and removable lower end of the flagstaff. As herein shown thelower end is provided with a fiber glass or equivalent member having ahead and shank. The essence of the invention pertains to simple,practical and reliable means on the attachable edge of the flag and theflagstaff whereby the flag is capable of being detachably and adjustablymounted by and under the supervision of the greenskeeper precisely andpositively in a manner that a golfer teeing off or approaching a givengreen is able to not only clearly see the position of the flag but toestimate with reasonable certainty the established locale and p1acementof the cup, that is, whether the cup has been placed in an area adjacentthe rearward segment, the front segment or the medium area relative tothe ever varying marginal contour of said green.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED HAY] 5W3 Fig. 4 60 52 6472 58 I 32uunlmnv 1 CUP AND FLAG POSITION INDICATING MEANS The present inventionrelates to certain new and useful improvements in equipment for moreeffectively playing the game of golf and has to do, more particularly,with a golf ball sinking and retrieving cup which is substantiallyconventional in construction, a grommeted flag likewise conventional intype, and a structurally and functionally improved flagstaff or pinwhose upper end portion in particular is expressly designed and adaptedto adjustably and rotatably mount the flag in such a mannerthat thegolfer is no longer required to resort to uncertainty and guesswork withrespect to the locale of the cup and flag relative to the circumscribingmarginal edge and apron of the green.

One aspect of the overall concept of the invention pertains to aflagstaff whose lower end is fitted into a socket formed axially in aheaded pin supporting and anchoring ferrule which may, if desired, bemade of durable metal, said ferrule having a headed upper end and adepending tapering shank passing down through hublike openings in upperand lower spiders built into the embedded cup.

In carrying out the principles of the invention the flagstaff is stoutcompared to conventionally smaller and thin flagstaffs and pins and hasdistinguishable white and blaze-orange sectors and an upper headed endwhich features combine in rendering the flagstaff clearly visible to thegolfer from greater distances and, in so doing, facilitate spotting theflag with selfsatisfying reliability.

Insofar as the flag itself is concerned it is of conventional size andmaterial and is blaze-orange, the attaching edge thereof havinggrommeted attaching holes.

The primary object of the invention is to detachably, rotatably andadjustably mount the grommeted flag on a specially constructed upper endportion of the flagstaff in,.a manner that will give the golfer theincentive to go-for-the-hole instead of simply driving to the green andwhile trying to guess the placement or locale of the cup and flag.

More important, the invention pertains to so mounting the flag on theupper end portion of the flagstaff that a golfer teeing off orapproaching a given green is not only enabled to clearly see thecolorful flag and flagstaff but to achieve a desired edge in that he isable to estimate with reasonable certainty the established locale andplacement of the cup, that is, whether it has been placed by thegreenskeeper in the area adjacent the rearward segmental region, thefront areal segment, or the median area, that is in-between the frontand rear areas or zones.

Golf, as is well known has met with widespread popularity in that theexperienced and skillful golfer has at his disposal modern equipment,the best available and playable golf balls, balanced sets of clubs,lavish and intriguing golf courses and many other accessories whichpertain to all conceivably useful modes and manners of play. Even so andnevertheless there has long existed a need which will enable the golferto better and more successfully gauge his shots to the green.Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to providea combination of cup, flagstaff, flag and oriented facilities which willenable the player to go-forthe-hole with a feeling of greater andgratifying success.

For background purposes it is a matter of common knowledge thatproviding a pin or flagstafi on which a flag is rotatably mounted toindicate the direction in which the wind is blowing is shown in U.S.Pat. No. 2,072,573, granted to Vincent Vigliotti. The use of a cruciformhub-like spider within the confines of an embedded cup is shown in U.S.Pat. No. 1,723,859, granted to M. R. Hummel. With respect to theessential aspect of the invention herein revealed, attention is directedto U.S. Pat. No. 3,240,183, granted to J. H. Walter et al. and which hasto do with an adaptation for visually indicating the position of a cupon a golf green, and more particularly, a golf hole flagstaff or pinprovided with means for visually indicating to an approaching golfer therelative position of the cup between the front and rear marginal edgesof the putting green.

As evident from the preceding description, it is an object of theinvention to advance the art and to improve structurally, functionallyand in other ways the golf cup, flagstafi' or pin, colorful featuresthereof and, what is more important, the rotatable and adjustablemounting of the flag.

Briefly the herein disclosed invention is expressly designed and adaptedfor use on a putting green in conjunction with an embedded ball sinkingcup and, more particularly, a vertically elongated flagstaff havingupper and lower end portions. Uniquely headed means is provided on thelower portion for removably anchoring and retaining the flagstafi in anupright flagdisplaying position in spiders provided therefor in the cup.A regulation putting green designating flag with grommeted holes on theattachable edge is utilized and oriented with adapter means. The adaptermeans is adjustably mounted on the flagstaff on the upper end portion ina manner that the flag is capable of being vertically positioned andselectively retained on said upper end portion, that is, in a mannerthat a golfer teeing off or, alternatively, approaching the green fromthe fairway or out-of-bounds areas can better ascertain and reliablypinpoint the locale of the cup without actually seeing it in relation toproximal, distal or imbetween positions of the flag and, moreparticularly, the place ment of the cup relative to the encompassingmarginal edges of the putting green.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation showing a fragmentary portion of theputting green, the embedded cup, the anchorable lower end of the pin orflagstaff, the colorful construction of the flagstaff and, moreparticularly, the specially constructed upper end portion, adapter andflag for rotatable and adjustable purposes.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view with parts in section and elevation detailingthe upper end and adapter means.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail section taken approximately on the plane ofthe vertical line 3-3 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of theindicating arrows.

FIG. 4 is a cross section on the horizontal section line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective of the applicable and removable adaptor.

In the views of the drawing the putting green is denoted generally bythe reference numeral 6. The hole therein is denoted at 8 and thechangeable and insertable and removable cup is denoted at 10. The cuphere has open top and bottom portions and upper and lower verticallyspaced parallel integral spiders 12. Each spider 12 has a centralopening forming a hub for the tapered shank portion 14 of the anchoringferrule 16. This ferrule has a headed upper end 18 which rests on theupper spider and the headed portion is provided with an axial socket 20for the telescoping end portion 22 of the lower portion 24 of the pin orflagstaff 26. It should be mentioned at the outset that the flagstaffhas white portions 28 bright bright blaze-orange companion portions 30.The extreme upper end portion 32 has a screw-threaded socket 34 toaccommodate the shank of a headed screw-threaded bolt or fastener 36which serves to hold an enlarged washer 38 in place. This washer fitsfirmly on the extreme flat upper end 40.

The red or correspondingly colored green designating flag is denoted bythe numeral 42 and is of a conventional type in that the inner verticalmarginal edge 44 is provided with eyelets or grommets 46. These grommetsare detachably secured to the novel applicable and removable rigidplastic adapter 48. The adapter comprises an upper collar-like ring 50,a lower collarlike ring 52 and intervening spaced parallel median ringsor collars 54. These rings are joined by diametrically oppositeconnecting bars 56. One bar is provided with a block like mountingmember 58 which accommodates and retains a nut 60 as shown in FIG. 4which in turn serves to accommodate the screw-threaded shank portion 62and reduced key member 64. The numeral 66 designates a lock washer and68 the head of the bolt or equivalent fastener. In actual practice theseupper end portion is provided with an upper keying groove 70, anintervening or medium keying groove 72 and a lower groove 74. Theadapter is removably fitted over the upper end portion and held in placeby the washer and bolt means as is evident in FIGS. 1 and 2. When thenumber 64 is in the upper groove 70 it shows that the cup has beenplaced in a rear segmental portion of the green (not illustrated). Whenin the lower groove 74 the flag position indicates that the placement ofthe cup is at the forward segment or area of the green. When in theintermediate groove 72 the position is in-between the respective remoteand proximal segments.

With further respect to the upper portion of the flagstaff, it will beobserved that there is an upper tapered or conical portion disposed at76 and which provides a limit stop shoulder 78 for the downward slidingmovement of the flag-equipped adapter. It will be further observed thatthe adapter and flag and shoulder means permits not only the raisableand lowerable adjustment of the flag for cup placement indicatingpositions but also allows the flag to rotate.

It will be further observed that the plastic adapter, which ispreferably white, has vertically spaced .I- shaped hooks 80 (FIG. 4) forthe grommeted edge of the flag. Then, too, each hook is provided with aflexible and resilient pressure-responsive clip 82 which functions'tohold the grommeted pan of the flag in place.

It will be evident that the stout upper end portion of the pin orfiagstaff is significant because it gives the golfer-a much moredistinct view of the flag and pin from a greater distance. In fact aposition-pin test was made by expert and professional golfers ranging upto 240 yards distance. The flag and pin were distinctly seen and readwith the flag in all three positions, the result being aided by theblaze-orange and white sectors or component portions of the stafi. Whenhitting any given shot to a green and being able to see the pin and flagin the address of the shot is an all important phase of the concept. Themost used pin of the present day is too small or too thin to be clearlyseen while addressing the ball. With the adapter, the swivel means andgrommeted flag and other coordinating features, it will be evident thatthe golfer teeing off or approaching the green from almost any area ofthe fairway or even the rough can soon learn to read the locale of thecup on the green so that he will have the desired edge in making a moredesirable and effectual shot. It is reiterated that with thisconstruction the golfer can go-forthe-hole instead of simply driving theball to the green relying on a certain amount of guesswork.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For use on a putting green in conjunction with an embedded golf ballsinking cup, a vertically elongated flagstaff having upper and lower endportions, means on said lower end portion for removably anchoring andretaining said flagstaff in an upright flag displaying position,regulation putting green designating flag adapter means adjustablymounting said flagstaff on said upper end portion in a manner that saidflag is capable of being vertically positioned and selectively retainedon said upper end portion in a manner that a golfer teeing off oralternatively, approaching the green from the fairway can betterascertain and reliably pinpoint without seeing the proximal, distal orin-between position of said flag and, more particularly, thecomplemental cup relative to the encompassing marginal edges of theassociated putting green.

2. The structure defined in and according to claim 1 and wherein saidflag has a vertical marginal attaching edge provided with verticallyspaced grommeted attaching holes, said adapter means having selectivelyusable keeper hooks and companion yieldable clips aligned and cooperablewith said hooks and serving to position and releasably retain saidgrommeted holes in their manually attached positions,

3. The structure defined in and according to claim 1, and wherein saidadapter means comprises openwork coupling means which encompasses and isvertically and shiftably slidable on said upper end portion, said upperend portion having encircling keeper grooves, said coupling means beingprovided with an accessible manually controllable retainer which isdesigned and adapted to be lined up with and releasably but retentivelyengaged with a selected one of said keeper grooves.

4. The structure defined in and according to claim 3 and wherein saidcoupling means comprises an upper flagstaif encircling ring, a lowerflagstaff encircling ring and an in-between encircling ring, said ringsbeing spaced apart but integrally connected by vertical ring unitingbars.

5. The structure defined in and according to claim 3 and wherein saidcoupling means comprises an upper flagstaff encircling ring, a lowerflagstaff encircling ring and an in-between encircling ring, said ringsbeing spaced apart but integrally connected by vertical ring unitingbars, one of said bars being provided with and carrying said setscrew.

6. The structure defined in and according to claim 1, and, incombination, a ball sinking cup interiorly provided with verticallyspaced integral centrally apertured hub-like spiders, said lower endportion of said flagstaff having a fitting affixed to said lower endportion and embodying a reduced axial shank inserted and passing downthrough and retentively but removably fitted in the apertures in saidspiders in a manner to maintain said flagstaff in an upright serviceableposition in said cup.

7. The structure defined in and according to claim 1, and wherein saidflagstaff is provided with color coded differentiating collars such asvivid orange and white, respectively, to assist an average approachinggolfer to clearly see not only the flag but the flagstaff from adistance of 240 yards or more.

8. The structure defined in claim 3, and wherein there is a top grooveindicative of the rear remote segmental area of the green, a bottomgroove indicative of and marking the proximal front areal portion of thegreen and an in-between groove indicative of and designating a generallycentralized area of said green.

9. In combination, a golf ball sinking and retrieving cup, a flagstaffhaving a lower end provided with means for removably but retentively andaxially securing a lower end of said flagstaff in said cup, aconventionaltype putting green designating flag, and means on said flagand an upper end portion of said flagstafi whereby said flag is capableof being detachably and adjustably mounted on said upper end portion byand under supervision of the greenskeeper in a manner that a golferteeing ofi or approaching a give green is able to not only clearly seethe position of the flag but to estimate with reasonable certaintY theestablished locale and placement of the cup, that is, whether it hasbeen placed in the area adjacent the rearward segment, the front arealsegment, or the median area relative to the delineating marginal edgesof said green.

10. The combination defined in and according to claim 9, and whereinsaid means is characterized by a vertically shiftable and rotatable flagadapter which is shiftably and latchably mounted on said upper endportion and provided with resilient clips, and also wherein a verticalinner marginal edge portion of said flag is provided with grommets whichare capable of being detachably and selectively connected to said clips.

1. For use on a putting green in conjunction with an embedded golf ballsinking cup, a vertically elongated flagstaff having upper and lower endportions, means on said lower end portion for removably anchoring andretaining said flagstaff in an upright flag displaying position,regulation putting green designating flag adapter means adjustablymounting said flagstaff on said upper end portion in a manner that saidflag is capable of being vertically positioned and selectively retainedon said upper end portion in a manner that a golfer teeing off oralternatively, approaching the green from the fairway can betterascertain and reliably pinpoint without seeing the proximal, distal orinbetween position of said flag and, more particularly, the complementalcup relative to the encompassing marginal edges of the associatedputting green.
 2. The structure defined in and according to claim 1 andwherein said flag has a vertical marginal attaching edge provided withvertically spaced grommeted attaching holes, said adapter means havingselectively usable keeper hooks and companion yieldable clips alignedand cooperable with said hooks and serving to position and releasablyretain said grommeted holes in their manually attached positions.
 3. Thestructure defined in and according to claim 1, and wherein said adaptermeans comprises openwork coupling means which encompasses and isvertically and shiftably slidable on said upper end portion, said upperend portion having encircling keeper grooves, said coupling means beingprovided with an accessible manually controllable retainer which isdesigned and adapted to be lined up with and releasably but retentivelyengaged with a selected one of said keeper grooves.
 4. The structuredefined in and according to claim 3 and wherein said coupling meanscomprises an upper flagstaff encircling ring, a lower flagstaffencircling ring and an in-between encircling ring, said rings beingspaced apart but integrally connected by vertical ring uniting bars. 5.The structure defined in and according to claim 3 and wherein saidcoupling means comprises an upper flagstaff encircling ring, a lowerflagstaff encircling ring and an in-between encircling ring, said ringsbeing spaced apart but integrally connected by vertical ring unitingbars, one of said bars being provided with and carrying said setscrew.6. The structure defined in and according to claim 1, and, incombination, a ball sinking cup interiorly provided with verticallyspaced integral centrally apertured hub-like spiders, said lower endportion of said flagstaff having a fitting affixed to said lower eNdportion and embodying a reduced axial shank inserted and passing downthrough and retentively but removably fitted in the apertures in saidspiders in a manner to maintain said flagstaff in an upright serviceableposition in said cup.
 7. The structure defined in and according to claim1, and wherein said flagstaff is provided with color codeddifferentiating collars such as vivid orange and white, respectively, toassist an average approaching golfer to clearly see not only the flagbut the flagstaff from a distance of 240 yards or more.
 8. The structuredefined in claim 3, and wherein there is a top groove indicative of therear remote segmental area of the green, a bottom groove indicative ofand marking the proximal front areal portion of the green and anin-between groove indicative of and designating a generally centralizedarea of said green.
 9. In combination, a golf ball sinking andretrieving cup, a flagstaff having a lower end provided with means forremovably but retentively and axially securing a lower end of saidflagstaff in said cup, a conventional-type putting green designatingflag, and means on said flag and an upper end portion of said flagstaffwhereby said flag is capable of being detachably and adjustably mountedon said upper end portion by and under supervision of the greenskeeperin a manner that a golfer teeing off or approaching a give green is ableto not only clearly see the position of the flag but to estimate withreasonable certaintY the established locale and placement of the cup,that is, whether it has been placed in the area adjacent the rearwardsegment, the front areal segment, or the median area relative to thedelineating marginal edges of said green.
 10. The combination defined inand according to claim 9, and wherein said means is characterized by avertically shiftable and rotatable flag adapter which is shiftably andlatchably mounted on said upper end portion and provided with resilientclips, and also wherein a vertical inner marginal edge portion of saidflag is provided with grommets which are capable of being detachably andselectively connected to said clips.